Habakkuk 1 Hello God, can you please answer ?

Habakkuk 1

Hello God, can you please answer ?

Habakkuk 1 – “1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint2How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.

4Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

The LORD’s Answer5“Look at the nations and watch — and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. 6I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the

whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. 7They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. 8Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;9they all come bent on violence. Their hordes

advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. 10They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them. 11Then they sweep past like the wind and go on — guilty men, whose own strength is their god.”

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint12O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My

God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. 13Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? 14You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler. 15The wicked foe pulls all of them up with

hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. 16Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. 17Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?”

– Habakkuk 1

Habakkuk 1 – “1The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.2How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 4Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

The Book of the Law found

Cleansing the landof Idolatry

King Josiah – 627 to 609 BC(2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35)

Habakkuk 1:5-11 5“Look at the nations and watch — and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. 6I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own.

7They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.

8Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;

9they all come bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. 10They deride kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; they build earthen ramps and capture them. 11Then they sweep past like the wind and go on — guilty men, whose own strength is their god.”

The appropriate nature of God’s judgment :

1. Those who treat their fellow Israelites with “violence” (verses 2-3) would be subjected to the “violence” of the Babylonians (verse 9).

2. Those who suppressed and perverted God’s standard of justice would be overrun by an enemy that regarded justice in a similar fashion and followed their own standards of right and wrong.

Habakkuk 1:12-17 12O LORD, are You not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have ordained them to punish. 13Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; You cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do You tolerate the treacherous? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? 14You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler. 15The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. 16Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. 17Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?”

Babylonians : the first nation to introduce a scorched-earth policy

Habakkuk 1:14-1714You have made men like fish in the sea, like sea creatures that have no ruler. 15The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad. 16Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food. 17Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?”

Just as fish seem to exist merely to feed the fishermen, so the nations appeared to exist simply to gratify the Babylonians’ greed for power and economic prosperity.

The Problem of Evil :

How can God sit by and not do something about evil, especially society’s seemingly overwhelming evil ?

Worse still, the wicked guys not only live, they continue to be prosperous.

God Answers …

God Answers …Habakkuk : The whole book is basically a dialogue between the prophet and our Lord.

God Answers …

All of us can have a “golden phone” to God.

What if God is speaking to us right now ?

Are we in the right place to “decode” His frequency and make sense of His signal ?

What are the spiritual “decoders” available for us to use ?

“Nine ways God always speak”by Dr Mark Herringshaw & Jennifer Schuchmann

1. Hearing Voices - 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (Samuel)

2. Signs and Circumstances - Judges 6:36-40 (Gideon)

3. Words of other people - Hebrews 1:1 (Prophets)

4. History - 1 Cor 10:1-6 (Paul teaches that God speaks through history)

5. Dreams & Visions - Genesis 28 (Jacob)

6. Nature - Psalms 29

7. Our Emotions - Zephaniah 3:17

8. Our Conscience - Romans 2:14-15

9. Scriptures - Acts 15:13-19 (Apostle James)

4 possible Sources of Communication :

1. God


1. God

2. Myself


1. God

2. Myself

3. The World – our family, friends, teachers, TV, Internet, …


1. God

2. Myself

3. The World – our family, friends, teachers, TV, Internet, …What the world says to you may be good, neutral or bad. We have to discern for ourselves.


1. God

2. Myself

3. The World – our family, friends, teachers, TV, Internet, …

4. The Devil



















John 10:27 : “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”

Principles of Hearing God’s voice :

1. You must know God – believe He exists

2. You must want to listen to Him

3. After listening to Jesus, you must be willing to follow Him (to obey)





Exodus 20 – 18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

Desire to hear God’s voice for yourself …

There is a deep joy and peace that comes from being able to hear the voice of God for yourself.

Story of a German brother …

Story of a German brother …

"this is the same pain we feel because you are always running and pushing us so hard.”





4. The more you relate with God, the more you will recognize His voice

Habakkuk 1



“Hello Siew Mun, Loretta, Aaron, Julie, ________, can you please answer?”

Want to relate more with God ?

When you pray, tell God you are ready to listen to Him, ready to obey Him.

Read His Word to know who God is.

Want to relate more with God ?

When you pray, tell God you are ready to listen to Him, ready to obey Him.

Read His Word to know who God is.

Join other Christians in seeking God and praying.






5. There is a great blessing when you hear God speaking to you.





5. There is a great blessing when you hear God speaking to you – greater friendship with God– granted wisdom and at times even

useful knowledge

Living Sanctuary Brethren Church @ Pasir Panjang Hill

Living Sanctuary Brethren Church,

Pasir Panjang Hill Brethren Chapel,

Angora Brethren Chapel

@ Pasir Panjang Hill

Hougang

Pasir Panjang Hill

Deuteronomy 2:3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.”

Hougang

Pasir Panjang Hill

Deuteronomy 3:18 “The Lord your God has given you this land to take possession of it.”

Hougang

Pasir Panjang Hill


$99.63 per square foot

Hougang

Pasir Panjang Hill


$99.63 per square foot

The difference was $1.01 per square foot !

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Habakkuk 1 Hello God, can you please answer ?